Earth becoming a disease hot spot : The warming earth is making us sick. Rising temperatures, frequent floods and prolonged droughts are ideal conditions for infectious diseases to spread. "Global warming is fuelling epidemics in areas which are unprepared. We're seeing the emergence of new diseases around the world. Old diseases are also coming back with a vengeance,"
Climate change has dramatically changing infection trends.

Monday, September 3, 2007

Prosper Thy Neighbour Policy - Not Hate!

In case you are wondering about what is meant by prosper-thy-neighbour, I would like to explain again that it simply means if you help your neighbour to prosper you will prosper along with it. When countries are prosperous they become more stable and their people need not emigrate to your country. Instead their prosperity provides you with a market for your goods, with opportunities to invest and to enrich yourself even as you create jobs and wealth for them.

Poor neighbours are a source of problems for everyone, for themselves and for you. Their problems tend to spill over your borders and undermine your peace and prosperity. – Dr. Mahathir’s famous speech.

Malaysia is a federal constitutional monarchy with a population of approximately 26.6 million. Between the 1980s and the early 1990s, Malaysia experienced significant economic growth under Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad, the 4th prime minister of Malaysia. The period saw a shift from an agriculture-based economy to one based on manufacturing and industry in areas such as computers and consumer electronics.

Currently they is a total of 1.8 million registered foreign workers. This has resulted in many social problems for the nation.

The Malaysian Finance Ministry projects that the number of migrant workers will decline to 1.5 million by 2010, when there will be 250,000 foreign workers in the manufacturing sector and 200,000 in the construction sector.

Indonesia

Indonesia sent over 640,000 migrant workers abroad in 2006, mostly women going to Malaysia and Saudi Arabia to be domestic helpers in private homes. At least half of the outflow is unauthorized. Total remittances are believed to be at least twice officially reported remittances of $3.4 billion in 2006.

Indonesia's goal is to increase the number of migrants in order to increase remittances. Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has called migrants "foreign exchange heroes," and recognized that the recruitment process winds up overcharging migrants and encouraging illegal migration.

The Making Of Malaysia - The Malacca Sultanate wonder why Indonesians in Sumatra understand us better

The Sultanate of Malacca was a Malay sultanate centered in the modern town of Malacca, the sultanate stretched from southern Thailand in the north to Sumatra in the southwest between the year 1403 to 1511 and provided Malay history with its golden age .Portugal made Malacca a colony in 1511 by military conquest, thus ending the Sultanate of Malacca. After the fall of Malacca, three nations struggled for the control of the Malacca Strait: the Portuguese (in Malacca), the Sultanate of Johor, and the Sultanate of Aceh; and the attacks only stopped in 1641, when the Dutch (allied to the Sultanate of Johor) gained control of Malacca. The British took control of Malacca after the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824. (More than 50% of Sumatra Island is under the Sultanate of Malacca)

We have come a long way By Raslan Sharif

As we celebrate our nation’s golden jubilee, we can be proud of the fact that together as one people we have achieved so much in such a short span of time.

MORE than 500 years ago, Malacca was an international commercial hub that attracted traders from far and wide. It did not become a renowned trading empire by accident. Malacca's leaders consciously set out to create and maintain a climate and environment conducive for such an endeavour.

The key factors that led to Malacca's success was its ability to guarantee the safety of trading routes, the availability of comprehensive commercial facilities, an efficient legal system and an administration that was keenly attuned to the needs and requirements of local and international trade.

A section in Prof Barbara Watson Andaya's A History of Malaysia relates how the intricate Malaccan system functioned like clockwork.

Whenever a ship arrived in port, the captain reported to his particular harbour master (of which there were four), who in turn referred him to Malacca's principal minister, the Bendahara. The harbour master then supplied elephants for the captain to transport his cargo to a warehouse assigned for the temporary storage of his goods.

Before trading could be conducted, customs duties were paid in accordance with the value of the merchandise and the area from which a trader came. Larger ships were levied a flat 6% of the cargo. Once the duties had been paid, the merchandise could be sold.

Usually a group of Malacca merchants would reach a price with the ship's captain or the merchants on board, and then the goods would be distributed in proportion to the contribution made to the total price.

Under the system, traders could depend upon fair and rapid transactions, while their merchandise was distributed quickly and efficiently.

Prof Andaya writes that “Malacca's reputation for security, a well-ordered government and a cosmopolitan and well-equipped marketplace all attest to the priority its rulers place in creating the conditions for safe and profitable commerce.”

It is a description that sounds very familiar and, indeed, it would not be out of place if one were to substitute Malacca for Malaysia, which today is one of the top trading nations in the world.

More importantly, the success of both Malacca and Malaysia did not happen overnight but was the result of plans and policies executed over the years.

How Malaysia has transformed itself to become – similar to, but also much more than its illustrious predecessor – a vibrant nation with an open society that is welcoming to all, and a bustling economy with multifarious links to the global marketplace.

In 1511, the Portuguese conquered Malacca. For the next several hundred years until 1957, much of the territories that constitute Malaysia today remained under the influence, if not outright control, of various foreign powers.

It is telling that the Portuguese and the Dutch were able to exert control without the need for a sizeable presence. This was of course partly due to their military superiority, but the fact that the various sultanates, each with its own interests, concerns and priorities, were to a considerable extent independent of each other was also a key factor.

It was not until much later, when the British consolidated their rule over the states in the peninsula, that there arose among the rulers, leaders and people, a much more unified front based upon common purpose, which later became a driving force behind the movement for independence.

Lessons learned

Many things have changed over the last 50 years, not least of which are our efforts to provide comprehensive education to all Malaysians.

Inside, we take a look at how the education sector has evolved tremendously. Where once the best schools were largely the province of the elite, many more Malaysians today have greater access to better quality education provided by 10,000 schools and about 600 institutions of higher learning.

Another massive transformation that has occurred over the years is rapid urbanisation. We explore how factors such as urban migration, rising income levels and changing lifestyles have impacted the Malaysian landscape.

This being a celebration of Malaysia, we would be remiss if we did not touch on a subject that is very close to our hearts – food. Dietary habits have changed with the times, from the frugal days when rice and vegetables held sway to our current state of affairs much lamented by the health authorities.

The use of technology to power our progress has been a key factor in Malaysia's development.

We take a look at how far the country has come since the days of the government's first computer system, an IBM 1440 mainframe installed for the use of the then National Electricity Board.

Today, millions of Malaysians work and play with computers that are thousands of times more powerful than the one unveiled to 1,000 awestruck government and NEB officials at its launch in 1965.

Our 50 years of Merdeka is a short span of time compared to the rule of the Malacca sultanate and the nearly 450 years of Portuguese, Dutch and British overlordship.

However, Malaysia has come a long way and our achievements over the past 50 years are something to be proud of.

It is also clear there is much that we need to do for the future of the nation:

And as we stride forward as a free people and nation, let us remember always the struggle and sacrifices of our forefathers and freedom fighters, and be ever vigilant in the defence of our independence.

Global Warming Articles

Let's Go Green & Save The World : Mentor Gemilang

God Has Forbidden Us To Destroy This Earth That He Has Created. God has created Mankind as a ‘Guardian’ of this earth. OUR PURPOSE IS TO MAKE IT PROSPER NOT TO DESTROY IT..

The Truth Hurts - Truth is such a rare thing, it is delighted to tell it.

You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time.

Most truths are so naked that people feel sorry for them and cover them up, at least a little bit.

Truth always rests with the minority, and the minority is always stronger than the majority, because the minority is generally formed by those who really have an opinion, while the strength of a majority is illusory, formed by the gangs who have no opinion

Are u protected against Influenza A(H1N1)?

Simple, low-cost measures such as hand-washing, wearing masks and quarantining infected patients provide a good shield against the spread of flu and other respiratory viruses.

Repentance (At Taubah)

We can never be perfect since even prophets have at times made mistakes. Repentance means to abandon one's rebelliousness and arrogance before God and to stop deliberately disregarding His commandments without feeling any shame. Repentance also means to humbly hope for the mercy of God and to fear His judgment while doing the best one can to fulfill divine wishes within the limits of one's human weaknesses.